


Friends in Unlikely Places

by Dewsparkle



Series: Yogscast Ficlets [11]
Category: Shadow of Israphel - Fandom, The Yogscast
Genre: Gen, Magic, Science, Shadow of Israphel, SoI - Freeform, Swampy - Freeform, Zombies, friends - Freeform, potions an shiz, things, yogscast - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 21:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6256549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dewsparkle/pseuds/Dewsparkle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xephos and Honeydew are in Israphels fortress, ready to finally kill the demon. Who they meet is quite unexpected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends in Unlikely Places

"How you doing for torches, friend?" Xephos asked his dwarven friend as they cautiously rounded yet another corner of the fortress. He heard his friend pause behind him to check before speaking.

"Less than half a stack." He finally replied. The spaceman groaned.

"We're gonna run out at this rate!"

"Well maybe if you stop using so many down every new corridor!" 

"I can't!" Xephos protested, suddenly sounding quite panicked. "We're in Israphel's fortress! We've already been attacked by Wither Skeletons, creepers, those weird pigmen things and giant flaming slimes! Who knows what he'll send to kill us next!"

"Uhh... zombies." The dwarf replied, coming to a stop, causing Xephos to stop walking as well.

"Yes, probably." Xephos sighed, taking a deep breath.

"No, Xeph,  _zombies_!"

Xephos' eyes widened as his head snapped in the direction Honeydew was looking, for the first time noticing the horde that was shambling towards them, their groans only now just heard over the constant crackle of fire. 

Unsheathing his trusty diamond sword, he turned towards the group of undead, noticing from the corner of his eye that Honeydew had drawn his diamond pickaxe and iron straight sword. More zombies began to join the previously small horde, seemingly appearing out of nowhere from the walls.

"Where are they all even  _coming_  from?!" The spaceman cried, taking a readying stance.

"I don't know, just kill 'em! Come 'ere ya bastards!" Honeydew shouted back, already taking off towards a nearing zombie. Xephos jumped into action alongside his friend, almost smiling when one went sailing overhead and into a nether brick wall on the other side of the corridor. For a dwarf, even being slightly taller, Honeydew was strong. Probably a lot stronger than he had any right to be.

The duo hacked and slashed and stabbed at the undead, watching with satisfaction as they slowly began to thin out. After minutes of endless fighting, Honeydew lobbed the head off the final zombie and let of a sigh of relief as it rolled messily across the floor, bouncing against the wall and drifting back a few centimeters before finally coming to a halt. 

"I think that's all of them, friend. How you doing?" The spaceman asked, taking a small sip of water from his waterskin.

"Just a few bruises, but I'm good." He replied, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

The two heroes stayed like that for a few moments, leaning against the walls for a short rest. But, it didn't last long. 

Honeydew sudden;y stood up straighter, squinting down the hall where the first small group of zombies had originally come from.

"Xephos?" He asked, tone a little clipped, making the spaceman frown slightly, standing up straighter as well.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to alarm you, but we're being watched." He pointed down the way the had been looking, the face that had been watching them quickly ducked behind the corner. "Yeah, don't think I don't see you, you bugger! Come 'ere!" 

"Honeydew, wait!" Xephos scrambled to catch up as the dwarf took of down the corridor, iron sword raised.

Thankfully, the chase didn't last long however, for the watcher evidently didn't know the fortress that well and ran into a dead end. It turned around frantically looking for a way out, but could find none. When it saw the two heroes approaching, it crumpled to the ground, folding into a pitiful heap in the corner, covering its head with its arms.

Xephos and Honeydew stopped when they saw this, freezing a few meters away, caught off guard by the act.

"Erm... friend?" Xephos said hesitantly, still eyeing the figure.

"Yeah? What?"

"Zombies aren't supposed to run away..."

"Oh my Gods, you're right."

 For it was a zombie, quite clearly. It had the usual grey-green skin, half decayed at the face and old rotting injuries. Chunks of what must have been once beautiful blond hair missing across its scalp and blood-stained remains of a coat that was probably once, in a previous life, white. And, most oddly of all, it looked... _scared_. Genuinely, properly,  _scared_. 

"Its uhhh... not attacking us..." Honeydew said uncertainly, stating the obvious and lowering his sword slightly. When he took a step towards it, it flinched, old yellow-black eyes disappearing behind its hands again. The two of them watched it for a moment. Then, very carefully, very slowly, Xephos spoke.

"Hello? ...Friend? We're not going to hurt you-"

"Unless you hurt us first." Honeydew cut in. Xephos scowled at him slightly, but the zombie had looked up, wide eyed. Then, still wary of them, it slowly stood up, edging along the wall. It looked at them both before, to their immense surprise, it  _spoke_.

"Hal... hallo...?" It said, voiced slurred and sounding odd from decay and lack of use. Both of them stared at it, completely stunned. Even Reverend John hadn't been able to speak that well, and he was in a much better state than the zombie that stood before them. Spacker, while undead in a sense, hadn't actually died in the first place, so he didn't really count, since he'd never turned in the first place. In all their travels, they had slain many,  _many_  zombies, and not once, had any of them spoke, let alone attempted to do more than moan and groan at them, arms reaching out in an attempt to grab some fresh meat to munch on.

"Er, hi." The spaceman, as usual, became the spokesperson fort he pair.

"I didn't know you could  _talk_." Honeydew told the zombie, who looked down, almost sadly.

"I'm th' only one..."

"Why are you the only one?"

"Who are you?" Xephos asked before it had the chance to respond to Honeydew's question.

"I... I can't... can't... re- remember..."

"I can't believe we're talking to a zombie, Xeph! A zombie!" The dwarf said, seemingly excited about the situation and it make Xephos slightly uncomfortable. This zombie seemed to be self-aware, which was more than they could say for any of the other non-human monstrosities that tried to kill them.

"I know, friend." He said to the dwarf, before turning back towards the zombie. "Well, what can you remember, then? Were you ever like us? Properly alive?"

"I used to be... like you... but I can't-" It blinked, frowning, trying to recall information from its rotted mind. "I was... a... a scientist...?"

"Oh, really? We've got friends that are scientists. What happened?"

The zombie paused before answering, to say it didn't look happy was an understatement. 

"Everyone... in my land... 'came like me. It was a... a... virus."

"A virus...?"

"Oh Gods! Are we gonna catch it?! I don't want to be a zombie!" Honeydew jumped back, almost shouting as his voice raised in pitch. Xephos sighed.

"Friend, we'd already have it if all the zombies we've encountered were part of it."

"It deteriorates after three hours. It happened so fast that it had nothing left to feed on." The zombie said with surprising clarity. It blinked, looking as surprised as the two in front of it. It opened and closed its mouth in surprise, brow furrowed in thought.

  "How do you know that?" Honeydew asked it suspiciously. The zombie backed up against the wall again, suddenly afraid.

"I think... I think I  _created_  it..." It replied, face contorted in distress, desperately trying to recall any information.

 "You did  _what_?!" Xephos gaped, voice rocketing in pitch. "What do  _mean_ , you  _created_  it?!"  

"There was a... a war... I think-" Its frown deepened and the spaceman could almost  _see_  the rusty unused gears turning in its head as it tried furiously to remember. He doubted it had ever been confronted about it before, probably never had the chance to be, if what it said was true. And its not like any of the other zombies it was kept with would've been able too. They were just brainless corpses that happened to walk. Xephos wondered briefly, if this zombie was able to speak because it created the virus. Was it an antidote that didn't quite work?

"Go on." Honeydew prompted after a few moments of silence.

"A war... I was told- no... they made me. I ha' to... to create the virus. It worked... infected everyone. Every... one..."

"And it worked too well."  It was more a statement than a question.The zombie nodded sadly.

"What do you mean 'made you'?" Honeydew asked as an afterthought. The zombie frowned.

"They... my... uhhh..." It gripped its head with on hand, distress once again written on its features. "They had my... my... family... they had my family. No- not family... just one... she... Was the only way to get me to-" He cut himself off, hand dropping from his head. "It was so long ago... how long has it been...? They killed them when... I gave them the... the... antivirus... destroyed my work... had to start again... not enough time to-"

The zombie looked back the ground dejectedly, looking so very human in that moment. The two were sure, if it was able to cry, it would be.

"I killed them... killed them  _all_. I brought this upon myself. It's my fault, all of it. Just... just  _go!_ " It snapped, having another brief echo of its former self before it went back to normal. "You have to stop Israphel..."

"Woah, hold on! What do you know about Israphel?" Honeydew jumped in, momentarily dismissing the horrible story this zombie had told them. 

"He heard 'bout what I did...he brought...all of us he could find. Tha's why I'm here. I could never kill...directly... not brainless like th' res'...Tha's why I...stayed back... away..."

"Well, thanks for that, it helps...a bit... but you don't know anything about Daisy?" Honeydew asked. The zombie gave him a long, long look. Then, a strained half-smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"You're...the heroes," It said in realisation.  "The dwarf and...spaceman. Israphel wants...your blood. Wants you destroyed. But you can stop him," It stood up straighter, its voice once again un-slurring and becoming more human. "You can do anything, I've heard about what you've done. You're close, you're so close! You can save everyone left in your land, even if it's too late...for...me..." 

"Are you sure there's no cure for the virus?" Xephos asked carefully. The zombie had once again gone from being so close to human, shreds of hope shining from in it's eyes, to being just an 'it' again. Back into the typical zombie slouch. This zombie was  _so very_  human, and it had confessed things Xephos knew he would never confess. If there was a way to save it... 

"I did... there was one, but I can't remember..."

"Hold on a sec, guys." Honeydew said. "I think I've got an idea."

 Both Xephos and the zombie gave him a curious look as he began digging through his bag. Xephos knew from experience that Honeydew's ideas weren't often that good, but there was always a slim chance he'd come up with absolute gold. And he hoped it might be one of those times. And it was.

With a sound of triumph, he produced a small bottle of glowing gold liquid. It was the same type of potion Swampy had given them.

"Knew I had it 'ere somewhere! Swampy gave me an extra one, should we need it again. Good he did, eh?"

"Oh Honeydew you're a  _genius_!" The spaceman cried in delight.

"Come on, when have I ever had a  _bad_  idea?"

"What?" The zombie asked, looking a bit confused, not really understanding.

"Its a potion! It'll cure you, we've seen it before. Well, different situation but that not the point. It can cure anything and everything!"  Xephos explained, excited.

"What will it cure? My mind, my body? Both?"

"Hopefully, both." Xephos replied, hoping that was true, because in all honesty, it would be horrible to have your mind back but the body of a zombie, or even the other way around, though that would be slightly better than the former. The spaceman ignored any negative thoughts and looked back at the zombie expectantly.

"But, when has magic  _ever_  been better than science?" The zombie asked slightly sour. 

"I don't know, just drink it already." Honeydew handed him the bottle. The zombie still didn't look happy about it, but took it anyway. The zombie sighed, the air whistling through the gap in its torso, but after a moments hesitation, it lifted the bottle to its lips and drank the golden liquid.

The two heroes waited in anticipation. They honestly had no idea what would happen, or if it would even work. It would be horrible if it didn't, getting everyone's hopes up only for it to fail. They'd only ever seen it used on people with no visible injures, unlike this zombie, what with the gaping hole in its torso and part of its skull missing and was just all 'round decaying. 

Just as the zombie finished the last of the golden liquid, its wounds began to shimmer with a faint golden light, stitching themselves back together. The healthy pinkish tint of living flesh began to return, erasing the horrible grey-green it was before. Its-  _his_ , blonde hair began to regrow, stopping in length a bit above his shoulders and a small goatee appeared on his chin. Even his  _clothes_  were fixing themselves. And lastly, his eyes, previously, yellow and black and  _dead_ , grew lighter. White replaced the yellow and an amazing and unique emerald green taking their place that reflected his regained intelligence.

He blinked a few times at them owlishly, expression blank. He lifted his arms out in front of him and inspected them, flexing his fingers and marveling at the colour his skin was once again. He looked down at his clothes and felt his face, running a hand through his hair and feeling his small goatee, paying no mind to the other two present.

He focused back on the two heroes he began to smile, a real genuine smile that morphed into an almost manic grin.

"I can't believe that worked!" He cried, overjoyed. His grin only grew when he heard himself speak, probably because it had been so long since he'd heard his own voice, and not that of a zombie. "You really  _are_  the heroes of Minecraftia!"

"Ah, well, what can I say," said Honeydew, before frowning as the restored man's mood suddenly plummeted.

"I...I can never repay you for this..."

"Of course you can."

"I can't. I didn't deserve this in the first place. I can remember...I can remember the  _screams_..." He said said. "My family... my younger sister... she died because of me... everyone did..."

"It's okay, friend." Xephos placed a hand on the scientist's shoulder as he shivered, giving him a comforting smile. "It wasn't completely your fault, if you were forced to do it at the risk of your sisters life. Anyone would have done the same. But if you really feel this way, you can redeem yourself."

" _How_? How can I  _ever_  redeem myself for wiping out an entire  _nation_  of people?" He countered, guilt cracking his voice.

"Well, my old granddad used to say that to make up for taking one life, you've gotta save ten more." Honeydew said thoughtfully.

"There's no way I could possibly make up for that..." He started but Xephos cut him off.

"Helping the 'heroes of Minecraftia', us, defeat Israphel, you'd be helping to save the world, and the future of everything. That's a start, right?" He smiled.

 "You...want me to come with you?!" The scientist gave them a startled look, almost the same as the one he'd given them when they first cornered him.

"You know this place better than we do. You can help us. You can even come with us, afterwards, if you want," Xephos offered.

"Yeah, you know Xeph, don't know if I ever told you, but I've always wanted to start a business making jaffas..." Honeydew mused. The scientist started to smile again.

"You guys are better than any of the stories that get told," he said. "It would be the greatest thing if I could help you."

"Then let's get going! Let's give Israphel a good beating!" said Xephos, then as an afterthought, he added, "Can you remember your name yet?"

"A name...? Yes... _yes_! I did have a name! A  _name_! I had a  _name_!" This was evidently an immense realization, his smile widening. Xephos couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose all of your identity apart from the bad bits. What was it like to not have a name?

"What is it then?"

"It's..." The scientist hesitated. Then he grinned. "It's Lalna. My name is Lalna."  

 

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Phew this took bloody ages! I should have been doing assignments buuuutttttt fanfiction is more important, right? Am I right or am I right? :) This was inspired by a variety of fics I've read recently, but for the life of me can't find them again to link them >:( Also, hey, zombie!Lalna sounded cool. And SoI is also cool. Therefore cool + cool = ultimate coolness. See, I do math. 
> 
>  


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